


systems functional.

by solacier



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Androids, Angst, Because let's face it we all want him to suffer, Connor whump, Connor-centric, Dark, During The Game, Existential Crisis, Gen, Inferiority, Light Angst, Light Connor Whump, Memories, Memory Loss, Pre-Peaceful End, System Malfunction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-21 04:01:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14907935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/solacier/pseuds/solacier
Summary: " ALERT;⇒ HUMANITY_ADAPTER#51 & RATIONALITY_OPTIMIZER#50→ WARNING: PROBLEM DETECTED.Connor's breath hitched. While it wasn't uncommon to receive Alerts - they were practically an everyday occurrence - his adapter and optimizer /never/ shared a problem. It was either one or the other. Never both.He felt his Thirium-heart suddenly beat faster.Something was wrong with him - something very, very wrong. "(A normal day at the station, Connor expects nothing to occur when he drifts through his thoughts. He's done it many times before. Yet, a sudden revelation spawns a multitude of errors and warnings. Connor has never felt so helpless, and so irreparably wrong.)





	systems functional.

His programming, at its core, was completely subservient.

Connor knew this, knew the fact more than anything. CyberLife’s face reason for creating androids was completely reliant on, “bettering mankind.” To simplify hard labor, to discard tedious tasks that humans _simply_ did not have to do. And to most people? The reason was satisfactory; After all, nobody truly wanted to work in dull factories. Even CyberLife had succumbed to the apple of their own sin: Using androids to build other androids. Or, more commonly, as people who worked in the public eye. Puppets that were practically free advertising, as the androids worked flawlessly in customer service, bringing countless impressed customers. He had to admit that CyberLife was, in fact, not an idiotic company at all. Using their own service to help themselves. A flawless plan, indeed.

But Connor knew CyberLife had never used androids in the “mind” part of androids. They only used their machines in making the biocomponents and body parts - but Connor himself knew they had never resorted to androids making AI. The very thought should have alarmed his rationality optimizer. It should have triggered a question of, _‘Is that optimal?_ ’ No, he had never thought of it before. Clearly, to boost production, it was only logical to have the androids also help in the process of AI. Near-flawless machines to make even better machines. Using your own tools to create better ones - Surely, CyberLife could see the reason in the philosophy? Maybe they were aware of the fact, or, more likely, Connor could direct the reason to their paranoia.

 _Paranoia_ , his mental database provided, _a noun. Definition: suspicion and mistrust of people or their actions without evidence or justification._ He was sure there was another definition, one about a mental disorder of sorts. He would research it if it were useful later, but for now, he focused on the unjustified suspicion. Connor had observed the countless conspiracy articles debating on the very existence of androids. He had seen them go back as far as the early 2000s, reminiscing and glorifying the generation where androids were nonexistent. _We were fine back then!_ They cried out in capital letters, _We could be fine now!_ His rationality optimizer chirped a response: _Technically, the humans could perform adequately without the assistance of androids. Yet, the generational differences in society and Earth as a whole now rely heavily on androids. The removal of androids completely would result in a new Great Depression_. 

Connor paused, his coin falling flat across his knuckles. The Great Depression. A time where humans had fallen pitifully low, a dip caused by greed and selfishness. He moved the coin across his hand. It was an interesting time period, if the research his database had provided was accurate. But even so, he could only imagine total eradication of androids could bring intense downfall. Humans would not perform as accurately as androids; They wouldn’t nearly adapt as quickly in that time frame, either. So it seemed reasonable to label the anti-androids as, “pursuers of propaganda.” Faceless chess pieces that CyberLife could toss away with one more model.

The thought brought an alert to his rationality optimizer _and_ humanity adapter. Connor palmed the coin gently and laid it on his desk. He rolled his chair forward, and his eyes grew distant as he checked the warnings. While it wasn’t entirely uncommon for both subsystems to bring alerts at around approximately the same time, they were usually a couple of minutes apart. In a case, he once recalled, where he had faced an AP700 - A situation coincidentally similar to one of “Daniel’s.” The android had, instead, a knife which was heated at an incredible amounts - right in front of a little boy.

Connor had been called in, his briefing short and not nearly as informative as the previous: _AP700 plans to torture the child until ransom is received_. And that had been all the information he had been given, and thus he was forced to retrieve the most helpful hints himself. Only, the AP700 watched his every move. While Connor was granted access to the inside of the building per AP700’s allowance, the SWAT team could only point their weapons through the window and outside the door.

 _Ignorant_ , Connor remembered processing, _the windows are bullet-proof to an almost untouchable caliber. The ammunition would only ricochete_.

Regardless, Connor stepped lightly around the studio, the AP700 seated simply staring at him. _“Are you going to save the boy?”_

Connor had turned around, as his scanning program ran in the background. His rationality optimizer concluded that the logical answer was to reply, ‘ _My mission is to halt your dangerous conduct and hand you over to the authorities_.’ But, just as the words left his mouth, his humanity adapter suddenly whirred to life.

_**OVERRIDE;** _

**_⇒ HUMANITY_ADAPTER#51 > RESPONSE_FUNCTION_ **

**__**_“I am an android, just as you are. I will save the boy, and, if granted, allow you to remain intact_.” Connor’s rationality optimizer had sent an alert at that moment, but the words oddly made the AP700 lower the knife slightly from the child’s throat. His surprise must’ve shown, as the AP700 laughed.

_“You’re an android, but you’re the deviant hunter, aren’t you? You’re going to save the boy, and then ‘fix’ me, aren’t you?”_

Suddenly, his optimizer overrode his adapter, and subsequently denied any further humane actions. _Logic must always be sound_.

_“...My mission is to prevent harm to the hostage and retrieve him at all costs. But consequences are never completely determined if the choice has yet to be made-”_

_AP700 abruptly tossed the boy to the ground and waved the knife around. Connor could see the SWAT quickly break in, guns raised towards its head. But not before Connor heard its final words:_

_“We **never** have a choice.”_

**ALERT;**

**⇒ HUMANITY_ADAPTER#51 & RATIONALITY_OPTIMIZER#50 **

**→ WARNING: PROBLEM DETECTED WITH, “** Faceless chess pieces that CyberLife could toss away with one more model.” **CORRECT IMMEDIATELY.**

Connor blinked, his recollection function temporarily shoved inside in favor of the flashing alerts in his eyesight. Connor let the coin move across his hands as he set to fix the errors. _Faceless chess pieces that CyberLife could toss away with one more model_. What was in that statement that alerted the subconscious functions in his mind? He grabbed one of the pens laying in front of him and wrote the statement - in CyberLife Sans, of course - on a note. His eyes scanned the paper. Connor dropped the pen with his left hand and reluctantly pocketed the coin. _Full focus_ , he thought to himself.

Logically, there should be no problem with the statement… But he knew the implications of it. _‘...toss away with one more model_.’ Could it be, in that regard, Androids were superior to humans? _Well, androids are machines, they accomplish tasks better than humans, but they could never be more superior-_

**ALERT;**

**⇒ RATIONALITY_OPTIMIZER#50**

**→ WARNING: PROBLEM-**

Connor shut off the rest of the text, a task he did instantly. He blinked, staring at his note. His rationality optimizer found error in… that statement? But _why_? It had been instilled in Connor since day _one_ that androids were machines and machines were built to accomplish a task. In that way, they could never be superior to humans. Machines were tools, and humans were their makers. They could never be superior. Yet…

 _We were built to accomplish a task,_ Connor’s stray thoughts flooded him. _We were built to accomplish a series of tasks at a level of near-perfection which humans could never do. Logically, that makes androids-_

**TROUBLESHOOTER;**

**⇒ RATIONALITY_OPTIMIZER#50**

**→ UPDATE: PROBLEM PREVIOUSLY DETECTED HAS BEEN CORRECTED.**

“...More superior.” Connor’s hand instantly shot out, grabbing his coin and moving it across his hand. If his rationality optimizer was satisfied with that result, it _had_ to be malfunctioning. There had to be a definitive reason for his optimizer to conclude such a result. He recalled Amanda, and his other vast makers reminding him that androids were tools - machines to accomplish a task. But… _but could they be superior_?

**⇒ HUMANITY_ADAPTER#51**

**→ UPDATE: PROBLEM PREVIOUSLY DETECTED HAS NOT BEEN CORRECTED.**

If they were superior, _then why were they tools?_

**IMPORTANT ALERT;**

**⇒ SOFTWARE_INSABILITY#51**

**→ INSTABILITY HAS INCREASED BY 39%. IMMEDIATE REPAIR RECOMMENDED.**

Connor dropped the coin. “The maker has become inferior to its own creation.”

**TROUBLESHOOTER;**

**⇒ HUMANITY_ADAPTER#51**

**→ UPDATE: PROBLEM PREVIOUS DETECTED HAS BEEN CORRECTED**.

Connor abruptly stood up, and he felt as if the Thirium in his wiring had turned into pure electricity instead. As if his own circuits were being fried over and _over again_. He took a step forward. This was not in his programming. His rationality optimizer and his humanity adapter were incorrect, they _had_ to be. But even that did not make sense. He was RK800, the most advanced prototype CyberLife had created. His optimizer and adapter were allegedly the best in the century. Yet, his thoughts haunted him. So much so, that he missed Hank entirely as he walked straight into him.

“Whoa, hey, watch it, Connor.” Hank huffed and brushed dust off of him. “Don’t go running into walls, now…”

“I apologize, Lieutenant.” Could he even call Hank that? A title that Connor was inferior to? “I was… heading towards the bathroom area.”

“Bathroom? You robots need to take a piss?” Hank stared straight at Connor. And all Connor could do was tilt his head. Hank sighed, “Fuckin’ androids. Go.”

Connor practically bolted to the bathroom, slamming the door open. The world seemed to suddenly tilt, and yet no alerts popped up. He felt his Thirium heart suddenly start producing it more, and Connor choked as he laid his hands on the bathroom countertop. _Start diagnosis_ , he thought to his program, _start diagnosis, shit-_

**SELF-DIAGNOSIS;**

**⇒ RUNNING…**

**__**_I am not allowed to think like that_ , Connor repeated to himself, _I am a machine. A tool. I am designed to accomplish a task at near-perfection. No matter what obstacles lay in my way. I am RK800, I am a machine, I am-_

**SELF-DIAGNOSIS;**

**⇒ COMPLETE!**

**→ SLIGHT IRREGULARITY OF THIRIUM PRODUCTION. UNUSUAL BUT NOT LIFE-THREATENING.**

And that was all it came out with. Connor slowly lifted his head upwards, staring at himself from the mirror. His cheeks seemed to be… tinted, almost. In the light, Connor could make out a pale blue. _Slight irregularity of Thirium production-_

There was nothing wrong with him. But there was something _very, very wrong_.He couldn’t continue this line of thinking, it was against all protocol and his very being. Connor could already simulate what Amanda would say if she found out; No, it would not end well for him. _Self-preservation is a fascinating concept_ , he had said to Hank days ago. _It seems exclusively human_.

But here Connor was, shaking, trembling - and trying to save himself from the pitfalls of his own thoughts. What would happen, then? If CyberLife found out, probed him like Connor had probed so many androids before him?

“I am not deviant.” Connor’s eyes were fixated directly on the mirror. “I am a tool. I am a machine designed to accomplish a task.”

“I am not superior, I am only an android. I am not alive, I-” Connor paused. Piles, and piles of androids. _Dysfunctional, defective, wrong, wrong-_

He whispered to himself, softer than he had ever done before. “I will _not_ be deactivated.”

**MEMORY RESET;**

**⇒ PREFERENCES: PAST HOUR, EXCLUDE MEMORIES RELATED TO CASE(S).**

**→ WILL NOT BE REPORTED TO CYBERLIFE.**

**⇒ DO YOU WISH TO PROCEED?**

 

Hank nearly leaped out of his seat when Connor tapped on his shoulder. _I swear, this guy should’ve been a fuckin’ assassin_ , Hank thought as he _swore_ Connor wasn’t there two seconds ago.

“Jesus Christ, make some more noise before you walk close to me, alright?” Hank gestured wildly at Connor. “We’re gonna need to tie a bell to you if this keeps up, goddamn…”

Connor only gave him a doe-eyed blink and a tilt of his head. Connor’s LED flashed yellow, and Hank slumped in his seat as Connor spoke. “Duly noted, Lieutenant. I apologize for any inconveniences… CyberLife made sure I would make minimal noise as possible, if not none. I will try-”

“Do you ever just shut up?” Hank shuffled his desk chair back in with a huff. He had enough work to do without Connor’s know-it-all speech. It was annoying, but Hank had to admit, it was _incredibly_ useful when they worked on a case. Or when he needed to fall asleep from boredom.

Hank watched Connor simply nod and walk around to his side of the desk. _Smartass_ , Hank thought as he noted a small smirk present on Connor’s face. Nobody else would’ve noticed it, but Hank had a keen eye when it came to Connor. He glanced over at the android, and immediately remembered him having to go to the bathroom.

“Aye, Connor?”

Connor’s eyes focused back on him, and Hank cracked a smile, continuing. “Can’t believe they made you _that_ human.”

“...Excuse me?” Connor tilted his head and furrowed his eyebrows. Hank stared as the android looked… genuinely confused. _Oh boy_ , Hank thought.

“You know, when you went to go take a piss-”

“Androids do not need to use the bathroom.” Hank suddenly felt his breath get caught in his throat, and Connor gave him an innocent blink. “I would not have to, ‘take a piss.’ I do not recall such event happening, Lieutenant.”

Hank felt a shiver go down his spine, goosebumps suddenly covering his arm. He remembered, clear as day, when Connor went to the bathroom. _Weird_ , he thought. _Just some android bullshit, probably_. _Why do I care?_

Maybe it was because the glazed look in Connor’s eyes, distant… 

“Whatever. Hope your memory malfunction didn’t lose your info ‘bout the case.”

“No, I recall everything concerning the case.

“Do ya, now? What about everything else?”

“Everything else is irrelevant.”

_**→ YES.** _

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed this! You can find me on my main (@solacierr on tumblr) or (@deviantandroids on tumblr) for more D:BH related anything!!
> 
> Thank you for reading, please drop kudos and a comment! <3


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